


Seconds Late

by pastelaws



Category: All Time Low (Band), As It Is (Band), Chapel (Band), Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore, Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelaws/pseuds/pastelaws
Summary: The air went cold. It was in that moment, Geoff knew he had made a huge mistake.(Here's a time travel au nobody asked for.)





	1. 1:00

"Geoff!" Jawn cheered, his expression lighting up almost instantaneously. Jawn had been coming to the same bar as Geoff for a while now. He was one of the many regulars the bar had acquired over the years. The pair had often chatted but there was something about tonight that was different. There was something in the air. Something was off. "You're good at riddles, yeah?" It was out of character for anyone at the bar to bring up Geoff's love of puzzles. It wasn't a topic of interest to many as most regarded it as a rather useless skill to begin with.

"Good is subjective." Geoff replied slightly more bitter than usual, taking an almost sinful sip of his whiskey. It was five o'clock on a Friday and the bar was crowded with more people than usual; it was happy hour after all. More people made Geoff a tad on edge. He came to the bar to forget his problems, not meet new ones. "I dabble in them. Why?" He would've been lying if he said that the conversation didn't peak his interest, even if it was just slightly.

"What do you know about urban legends?" Jawn asked, more for effect than anything else. Geoff shrugged his shoulders. They were men in their twenties, not prepubescent boys chanting Bloody Mary in the mirror of a middle school bathroom. "There's an urban legend going around. You know how at the end of Mason Road there's that clock? There's writing on top of it now and t-"

"That hardly classifies as an urban legend." Geoff scoffed, running his hand through his chestnut brown hair. He has visited his hairdresser just a few days prior and gotten a trim. It was a bit shorter than he would've liked. The girls he brought home liked to tug on the deep brown locks when things got rather intimate.

"Would you let me finish?" Jawn complained, taking the final sip of his beer. Geoff nodded. "So there's writing on top of it now and nobody knows where it's come from. It's weird." As Jawn flagged the bartender down and requested another beer -this time more of a local brew- Geoff couldn't help but think back to the spot Jawn had described. He had walked past the area every day, twice a day, for four years and never noticed any writing at all. "But it's been there for a while now and apparently if you can solve the riddle, you get a wish."

"A wish? That's stupid." As soon as the words escaped his lips, he knew he had lied. His mind raced at all of the things he could do with a wish. There were so many things Geoff wished he could go back to with the information he has now. There were so many events that could be changed for the better. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as second chances. Every wrong decision merely haunted your very existence until you eventually stopped allowing the memory to have power over you.

"You could always wish to be rich. Or famous, even. Everyone's got something they want. Why not wish for it, you know? I've tried it but I can't seem to figure it out." Jawn joked, although he had a much more serious tone than intended. Jawn had wanted to be a star for quite some time now, although Houston wasn't exactly a champagne glass bubbling with potential. Geoff couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu but then again, everyone and their mother had heard of Jawn's ambitions. "There's a catch though. It needs to be done at five o'clock on a weekday."

"Why?" Geoff mused, already thinking of all the endless possibilities. Urban legends weren't usually that oddly specific.

"As if I know! But I know if anyone can do this, it's you."

"Fine. What's it say?"

***

"What time doesn't appear on the face of a clock?" Geoff muttered aloud, mostly to himself, unaware that another was listening. He shut his sky blue eyes and pondered the question for a moment. If it didn't appear on the face of a clock, that meant it didn't matter if the clock was analog or digital. He could rule out that the time could contain a number. He opened his eyes carefully, analyzing the details of the clock. The longer arm overlapped with the large twelve while the smaller hand was pointing to the smaller, yet equally extravagant, five. The answer had to be staring at him right in the face.

Geoff pulled up his sleeve, revealing a small silver watch. He took a look at the time and gazed back at the mural. Both timepieces read exactly five o'clock. He was almost starting to wonder if the riddle was worth it. It was happy hour he was missing out on, after all. Geoff had an affinity for two things; difficult puzzles and strong liquor. He wasn't entirely sure why he enjoyed either. He usually settled on the fact that he wasn't one for mediocrity. Geoff stood there for a moment and took another look at his watch, taking notice of the seconds hand. It was making it's rounds around the silver watch, just passing the small six at the bottom.

The answer couldn't possibly be five, as the number was proudly displayed on most clocks, save the odd analog watch here or there. It was five o'clock. Not somewhere, but here. Could the answer be happy hour? That was a time that didn't appear on the face of a clock. He wasn't really sure if an hour constituted as an actual time, although that didn't stop him from stating the answer loudly.

"It's happy hour. Everyone loves a good time." Geoff was confident with his answer. Happy hour was a time that never technically appeared on the face of a clock, typically between the hours of five and seven, similarly to the one he was currently missing. The young adult chuckled to himself, smile beaming with excitement. Geoff turned on his heel and took two steps forward, heading towards the usual speakeasy he frequented. Almost instinctively, Geoff turned his head from the direction in which him came. The wall in which the once worn out clock was proudly displayed had disappeared and in it's place, an opening.

Geoff quickly took walked back to where the lovely display originally resided and to his surprised, there was an opening the size of the width of a car. He couldn't help but notice how lush the entrance looked. The stone walls that once had looked a run down shade of charcoal had multitudes of flora and fauna growing across it. The beaten street lead into a giant field full of juniper wild grass. In the distance, there was a large saucer magnolia tree, blush colored petals coating the ground beneath. It wasn't possible. A place like this couldn't have existed. Geoff craned his neck to the left, then to the right, confirming that he was witnessing this madness alone. Geoff took a deep breath and took a step into the luxurious field.

He was almost shocked when the floor didn't give way. He had assumed that up until now, this was some sort of dream, and perhaps, it still was. Geoff glanced down at his feet, taking notice of the fact he was moving deeper and deeper into the meadow. His body was running on autopilot at this point and he was almost glad. There was something about this place; something strange. No amount of pale pink petals could change that. As Geoff was walking through the tall grass, he noticed two things.

The first was a pond with bright, cerulean blue water. His first instinct was to rush to the pool and scoop some of the liquid into his hands; he was positive it wouldn't retain it's glorious color. His second instinct was to drink the nectar and see if it tasted as magical as it appeared. The second observation took a little more precedence though. When Geoff had walked in, he had made a mental note of everything he had seen. The grass and the way it smelt. The taffy colored flora atop of the wall. Even the saucer magnolia tree and it's petals. He took no notice of the house on top of the hill, for it was not there moments before.

Geoff ran as fast as his legs could carry him. No, not to the exit, for that had been lost ages ago. Instead, his feet sprinted towards the house on the hill. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Answers? Possibly an exit? Of one thing he was absolutely positive, everything he was looking could be found within the house on the hill. Perhaps, it was the wishful thinking that caused him to completely disregard the hourglass image that sat on the roof of the building. Geoff hadn't taken notice of that. He was unaware he was running head first into a shop of sorts.

The boy climbed up the cinnamon steps and rapped his fist against the wooden door, a part of him hoping someone would hold answers to some of his pressing questions. His stomach dropped when the door creaked open and it lacked another individual on the other side. Geoff ignored the feeling forming in his stomach and headed inside. The place was larger than it had appeared. The shop had presented itself in the form of a quaint cabin, almost cottage esque in a sense, while the interior was quite the opposite. The room Geoff had barged into was rather large in size and the walls were entirely covered in different clocks. All of them read different times. He thought nothing of it.

There were tables upon tables of smaller timepieces, consisting of mostly wrist watches and pocket watches mostly. There was something off about them though; none of them were moving. Geoff eyed a few of the pieces, noting how they varied in an array of color. One of the watches stuck out in particular. It was an antique looking pocket watch no bigger than half of the palm of a hand. Geoff ran his fingers across the pale gold before settling on picking it up. He couldn't get over how the antique was barely scratched. On the front of the pocket watch was an engraving of an hourglass with small cursive letters underneath.

"Good Times." Geoff read softly, wiping the front of it in an attempt to get some of the dust off of the watch. He turned the watch over and brushed off the other side, revealing a much smaller engraving in identical cursive. "It's five o'clock somewhere." It was signed by someone called A. But who was A? Who did this watch belong to? Why was it here? Geoff turned the pocket watch around and clicked the top of it, revealing the face of the watch. The hands weren't moving, at least, not at first.

"But what good is a broken watch?" He mumbled to himself, ignorant of the fact he was being watched. Geoff spun the crown forward two hours, moving the time from five o'clock to seven o'clock in a failed attempted to get the watch started. Accepting his mistake, he turned the dial back two hours, putting the watch back at it's original time. The hands refused to move. In defeat, Geoff shut the case of the watch. The air went cold. It was in that moment, Geoff knew he had made a huge mistake.


	2. Chapter 2

Geoff opened his eyes, expecting to still see the room coated in clocks. He was instead placed back in the area he was once before. He eyed the clock mural closely, as if he was expecting the wall to open once more. He was just about ready to chalk the scenery up to being a dream when he felt the urge to check his pocket. Geoff reached his hand into the pocket of his dark denim and produced the hourglass pocket watch. The time was five o'clock. The second hand, however, was quickly approaching the number eight.

"Fuck." Geoff muttered mostly to himself, unable to get the vivid scenery out of his head. The gripped the watch tightly, almost as if it might melt away like the past. "It was real. It had to be. I said it was happy hour." His cinnamon eyes remained on the face of the watch as the seconds hand quickly approached the thin eleven. "I made a joke about good times and this wall just parted like it was the Red Sea and..." Geoff was unable to finish his sentence, for when his eyes fell upon what should've been a mural, he felt faint. Staring back at him instead was the wondrous scenery he had seen only moments before, his mouth agape in wonder. With more questions than answers, Geoff sprinted into the colorful meadow in front of him. 

He didn't notice how light his limbs felt as he sprinted past the downright celestial looking pool of water or how his previous hunger had vanished almost instantly. He paid no attention to the pastel petals coating the meadow, although they seem vaguely familiar. Geoff's legs were carrying him faster than he knew was possible, flying past the meadow and heading straight for the cottage on the top of the hill. He wasn't in control of his body at this point. Anyone with common sense would've turned on the heels of their feet and ran the opposite way. Perhaps, Geoff was different. Not always, but right now.

As he approached the cottage on the top of the hill, he heard voices this time. Two voices arguing back and forth. Somewhere along the way, Geoff had regained at least some of his senses. He couldn't go barging into whatever was going on in there. It sounded serious and based off of what happened only moments earlier, he was questioning his safety. Geoff stood behind one of the wooden pillars supporting the roof of the porch, catching bits and pieces of the conversation.

“I just need more time.” The first voice pleaded. It sounded like the person had been crying earlier. Their voice was strained and Geoff couldn't help but feel a little bad for them.

“I can't help you.” The second voice replied bitterly, lacking any form of remorse. Geoff was easily able to figure out that the voice belonged to a man. “Your collateral goes way down after tomorrow.”

“Please.” The voice was higher than most. Whoever was begging for assistance was a girl and from the sound of it, a young one. Geoff thought it might be a teenager. The thought made his stomach drop. If he was terrified to be here, she must have felt even worse. “You've lent people time before. I really need this.”

“You'd need a split. For a split, I take a day from your future.” The male voice stated, almost annoyed that the girl wouldn't already be familiar with what he was saying. Geoff heard a sigh but wasn't sure which party it came from. “Looking at your chart, your line disappears. That means you might not live past tomorrow.” Geoff's could feel his heartbeat in his stomach. Whoever was inside that cottage had a likelihood of dying tomorrow.

“Can't you take one from my past?” The girl questioned, clearly unfamiliar with whatever process they were trying to go through. Geoff had so many questions brewing in his mind and for a moment, he thought about storming up the cinnamon steps and charging into the clock invested room, demanding answers. “Please. Take whatever you want from my past.” Geoff heard a disapproving grunt coming from what he could only assume was the man.

“See, that's not really how things work around here jellybean.” The man's voice was more comforting this time around, perhaps taking pity on the fact he was likely talking to someone about to die. “If I could, I would but I can't so I won't.” A choked sob left the cottage from the girl more than likely.

“I-I really need this.” The girl was speaking through her tears, still insistent on getting whatever she had asked for. “See, there's someone really important to me. We met when we were both sick a year ago. He's better now and I'm-” The girl let out a laugh that could only be described as broken. “Well, you already know I'm not. I haven't told him that I'm still sick. I have surgery tomorrow but tomorrow is sort of the anniversary of the day we met.” Geoff's heart was breaking at this point. More than anything, he wanted to take some of the pain away from this stranger. “I-It's really important to me. He is. We're supposed to see each other tomorrow at Cafe Blanc and I need to tell him how I feel. Before I...”

There's a beat of silence. Neither of the people inside say anything. There's strength in the silence.

Before Geoff could realize what was happening, his body was back on autopilot. He was running up the creaking steps of the cottage, pushing the already parted door open before he had any idea what was happening. The sight before him wasn't what he expected. There was a girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old with tear stained eyes and long brown hair. That he was expecting. What he wasn't expecting was a blue haired boy that couldn't have been older than he was.

“Take it from me.” Geoff wasn't sure any of this was real anymore. Wherever he was felt like a dream. There was no way that the meadow he was just in could be that vibrant. It wasn't possible. If it wasn't for that, it was for the room coated in clocks. Maybe he had just imagined the wall splitting in two. He had an overactive imagination as a child; it would make sense. “Take the time from me.” This earned the interest of the blue haired boy.

“Oh?” A smile played on his taffy lips; a mix of interest meets annoyance. Geoff was so focused on the boy's hair that he didn't notice the multicolored eyes on the other boy at all that first day. One green and one blue. He didn't understand the meaning behind them. Geoff didn't know much of anything back then.

“C-Can he do that?” The brown haired girl asked, wiping her tears with the back of her hands quickly. She hadn't realized she originally had an audience when she started professing her sob story and felt incredibly embarrassed. She was the type of person to bottle up her feelings, allowing very few people around her to see her true emotions.

“Future time is future time. I don't care where it comes from.” The blue haired boy answered with a shrug. It clicked in Geoff's mind finally. This had to have been the place Jawn was talking about. Whoever this blue haired boy standing in front of him was, he must have been the cause for the urban legend. “I've got a shop to run.”

“Are you sure you want to?” The brown haired girl was facing Geoff but the sound of her voice just echoed through his ears. He wasn't listening. All he heard was the mention of a shop. Was it possible that this place was a time shop? If this girl was buying time, was it possible to sell it? Who was the boy in blue and why was he here? “You don't have to. I'd feel bad.” The pitiful sound of her voice brought him back down to reality, or wherever it is that he was.

“I'd feel worse if you didn't get to tell that guy how you feel.” Geoff admitted honestly. Truthfully, he didn't owe this girl anything. He had never seen her before and didn't know her in the slightest. Giving a day off his life to an absolute stranger was a terrifying concept and yet he felt incredibly calm. Maybe it was the part deep inside himself that was a hopeless romantic that was making him do this for her. He wasn't entirely sure. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. He turned his attention back to the blue haired boy, nodding to him. “I'll do it. Take a day from the future.”

“Whatever you say.” The blue haired boy rolled his eyes, facing away from Geoff. He was scouring through a bookshelf packed to the brim of leather bound books. He clicked his tongue before settling on one and pulling it out dramatically. He opened the book, humming to himself in delight before being interrupted by a sigh. “Right. First time buyer. Some stuff you should kno-”

“Does it just come off my life?” Geoff asked curiously because in all honesty, he couldn't believe this was actually happening. “Or like, what happens?” The brown haired girl shook her head aggressively.

“That's not what my friend told me. She got a split a-”

“As I was saying, some stuff you should know.” The blue haired boy shot the pair a dirty look before continuing with his well rehearsed lecture. “Time works on equivalent exchange. You cannot get something from nothing. Everything you obtain you must give collateral for. Basically, nothing's free in this life, got it?” After earning a nod from both parties, the blue haired boy blessed the two of them with a short lived smile.

“Tight. So anyway, as I was saying. You're getting a split.” The blue haired boy pointed at the girl quickly. “Cassadee Pope, you're getting this cool thing called a split. You know that lame sitcom trope of having two dates at the same time and the main character is always like 'aw man, I wish I could be two places at once!'? Well this makes that kind of a thing.” The smiled returned to his face and god, was it a good smile.

“So what's gonna happen is I'm gonna give you this tiny watch,” Was there a watch in his hand a moment ago? Geoff wasn't sure but there was one now. “You're gonna click the side of it when you want your time to start. You're gonna essentially get a clone. It's gonna look, act, talk and think like you. For all intensive purposes, this thing is gonna be you.” Cassadee's mouth hung agape, shocked by the endless possibilities.

“That's incredible.” Cassadee remarked, still slightly in shock of actually being able to get to see him tomorrow. She knew that she probably have told Rian that she wasn't better but when the news that he had recovered came out of his mouth, she didn't have the heart to crush him. She loved him too much.

“Right? Here's the thing though, you're not gonna retain your clone's memories so you're gonna wanna send that one to the surgery. You got that? That's like, really important.” It was clear Cassadee wasn't listening. The smile on her face was too big and her eyes had too much fire in them. For the first time in years, she felt hopeful. “Now you.” The blue haired boy pointed to Geoff, rather obnoxiously if you were asking him. “Geoff Wigington.”

“How did you know that?” Cassadee asked. Hearing the strange time keeper say his name felt wrong yet normal somehow to Geoff. He was pretty positive that at no point he had said his name in the conversation. There was no possible way for him to know that.

“It's in his file.” The blue haired boy smirked, lifting the leather bound book in his hand. According to that logic, he still would've needed Geoff's name to find his file to begin with. Geoff shrugged the situation off as a fluke. He didn't push the situation any further. “More importantly, your end of the deal. You're not losing a day off your life. You're losing a day's worth of future memories. Pretty much it'll be like the day never happened.” A wave of relief flowed through Geoff, suddenly thankful for every day on his lifespan. “Any day in mind?”

“Does it make a difference?” The blue haired boy had been talking about equivalent exchange and all that jazz so he had kind of expected the boy to have a date in mind. He shook his head. Maybe all of Geoff's days from here on out were worth roughly the same. “Just take whatever day you want then.” The blue haired boy smiled to himself, murmuring something into the book and shutting it quickly.

“This is for you.” The time keeper extended the watch to the younger girl. She eagerly grabbed the timepiece from his hands and uttered a quick thank you. She turned on her heel to leave before racing back around to pull Geoff into what he would later refer to as a soul-crushing hug.

“Thank you Geoff.” She whispered, tears leaking from her eyes once again. Before Geoff could respond to her, she was letting him go and running down the shop's steps. He could only hope she was smiling. Geoff had had enough experience with time travel today and figured he should take a page out of Cassadee's book. As lovely as the place was, it appeared to be more trouble than it was worth. With a swift nod of the head, Geoff turned around to leave yet a force practically bound him in place.

“I think you have something of mine.”


End file.
